Maplestory Glamorous
by Hymntanra
Summary: A prestigious establishment in Orbis receives a calling card from the thief Phantom-but he may or may not be behind the subsequent theft of the original crown of the very first Empress selected by Shinsoo. The Order allows him the opportunity to clear his own name, but only if accompanied by one of their own scholars...Freud. Pre-Aria Phantom story, title is Slayers inspired.
1. Plans Alongside Plans

Maplestory Glamorous

Chapter One

Plans Alongside Plans

The Order of Orbis was a sight to behold on fine summer days. As the establishment was high in the air, like the majority of the town, a soft breeze would always caress the landscape. Thin trees would billow against the pull of the mild air. The scholars that walked through the halls of the establishment would ignore as their long robes were pulled and played with by the playful winds; they always had more important things upon their minds. Oftentimes, they had classes to attend or experiments on their mind. It was why the outfit of the Order was so simple—only a long, beige robe with a shimmering sun broach clasping at the neck to fasten a hood behind the head. The men would wear loose, white pants which billowed around the legs and tied into cuffs at the ankle. The women would wear long white skirts that had slight cuts around the bottom; barely noticeable, but enough so to create a pattern.

Despite the simplicity of the outfits chosen by the scholars, however, the buildings of the Order of the Orbis were far more elaborate. The main center was made up of five large, spiraling spires that shot into the sky; they went upwards into a V pattern, with the tallest tower being in the center. Elegant patterns ran up the sides and across the windows. They depicted images of the moon and the sun, of alchemy and of the Goddesses of the Maple world. Each one had been carefully carved by master artists. Even the doors were a sight to behold; each other had a massive carving of Rhinne, the Goddess of Time, on them. Each depiction towered over the scholars who entered the middle spire.

The middle spire was dedicated to classes and labs, although the top two stories of the tower were offices for the teachers and the headmaster. The towers to the side were libraries and more labs, and the other two were dorm rooms. Surrounding the towers was a wall of building—they were put to whatever use they needed to be, which oftentimes included storage of valuable artifacts. The Order of Orbis was quite infamous for having a large storage of insanely valuable artifacts that could attract the attention of anyone with a gold-hungry eye. Thankfully, the Order was inhabited by great talents.

Namely, mages and scholars.

Needless to say, they hired a good deal of guards as well but the Order didn't underestimate the abilities of their students and staff. The majority of the population there consisted of highly trained mages who were capable of casting powerful spells. Even a few mages who had preference to healing magic hung around the Order of Orbis. They were a highly diverse arena of training—it went unsaid that no one was foolish enough to play games with such a large gathering of talented scholars and mages. Especially since the standing Empress, Empress Vera, put some of her most highly trained guarded up to defend the treasures that lay within the white painted walls. The remaining guards were spread out across Maple, or on Ereve defending the young princess.

Yes, it went unsaid that no one was stupid enough to lay waste upon the treasures within the walls of the Order of Orbis.

"_A calling card?_" The councilmember said incredulously. A large, bearded man shut the curtains that led to the beautiful view outside. Despite being in the headmaster's room, he could not allow the possibilities of anyone spying in on them. Only the people in the room were allowed to be privy to this conversation. "Who in the world would be crazy enough to try and rob the Order of Orbis, much less leave a _calling card_ alerting hundreds of scholars as to that they were planning to do it?! Headmaster Yoen, I suggest you check your calendar, because today is not the day of pranks."

"This isn't a PRANK, Mr. Ichai." The bearded man snapped harshly. The councilmember, a small dark haired man, flinched visibly. "We received the calling card last night. No one saw him come in, and no one saw him leave."

"We are sure it is a he?" A fair haired boy, barely older than seventeen, interrupted. He looked rather out of place in the crowd of wizen looking men and women. The only one looking even close to his age was Ichai, and the dark haired councilmember had to be in his late twenties at the very least. The boy's words attracted harsh stares to his person but his expression held steady. Yoen sighed, and beckoned the redhead to his feet. The teen obliged.

"We are, Freud." Yoen replied tiredly, as if he had been pestered endlessly by questions since sunrise. "Since, after all, the calling card is from the 'master thief' himself. This calling card bears the familiar mark of Phantom."

Quiet titters and babble broke out in the room, but the confronted redhead stayed silent as the Headmaster of the Order handed him the small tarot shaped card. It did indeed bear the distinctive shape of a raven mask on it, with three stylized feathers protruding from the design. Freud ran his hand across it; he could feel rich, smooth silk under his hand. The boy was well aware that the so called master thief was known for his showmanship but this seemed a bit far too him. Such fabric was expensive even in its original home country of Ariant. To access it out of that country and use it on something as frivolous as a calling card…it almost made the boy snort. Or it would have, had the young scholar not been familiar with Phantom's reputation.

He was a rising star, or so Freud had been told. It wasn't gossip that the scholar particularly was keen to keep up with, as thieves had always kept their way from the Order of Orbis. The excess of magically adept individuals, as well as Empress Vera's trained guards, had always tended to frighten the bunch off. On top of that, Phantom seemed to be the type of thief that didn't particularly sit well with Freud—a 'celebrity' thief. He liked the attention, and he liked it a lot. Ladies swooned over a man who stole precious artifacts…it was a travesty, but it was just nonsense he had learned to ignore.

The fact was, though, Phantom was said to have never missed his mark and as far as Freud knew…that much was true.

He groaned slightly under his breath.

"What is his goal?"

"He looks to steal the priceless crown of Empress Kyria." Yoen declared. Freud, as well as the other scholars, looked at him like he was insane. "Don't give me that look, because that's just how it is. That's what the calling card says. Phantom plans on stealing the crown of the very first Empress in Empress Vera's line. The very first Empress appointed by Shinsoo herself."

"He can't do that. It's insane." Ichai snapped. "We have that thing under constant surveillance. If Empress Vera or Princess Aria found out that thing was under attack…the Gods only know what would happen if they found out it actually got STOLEN!"

"Will you calm down, you fool?" Freud snapped irritably. Ichai sent a cold, calculating glare at the boy. "Are you really so foolish that you think this man can break into what is literally the most secure vault in the country? It borders on being one of the most secure vaults in the world, simply because Empress Vera and Princess Aria would both have aneurysms if that crown went missing. Phantom has been touted to be a master thief, and lord of his trade, but somehow I doubt he has enough talent to penetrate all of the defenses that the Order of Orbis has to offer. He's just one man."

The room was silent for a few moments, and then the councilmembers began to chat among each other. Freud himself went quiet and let them reach their own conclusions. He could simply hope that his position as the youngest member in the room would have no impact on the decision made. The fact that he was so young had created quite a bit of fuss when Yoen had allowed him onto the council as a 'testing member', but Yoen was the Headmaster and his word was law. Many said it was because Freud was the apprentice of Yoen's old master, who somehow was still alive, but Freud knew better.

Freud knew that he had secure the position partly out of his own intelligence and talent.

Of course, that didn't mean idiots weren't on the council…the redhead stole a glance at Ichai, who wore a cross expression. He had originally been the youngest member of the council, and originally reveled in it. Because of that, he was none too fond of the young boy who had usurped him as youngest councilmember. Occasionally Freud had to even remind the black haired man that his youthful 'friend' was only on the council temporarily, if only to calm the idiot down. Freud couldn't say he cared much for Ichai either…or Ichai's stupid girlfriend sitting next to him, who had only gotten onto the council by the merit of being Yoen's granddaughter. Zekiyaa Ocera and Ichai Duceia were a perfect match.

What he didn't like, though, was how they were chatting amongst each other—smiling and snickering. Then, Ichai stood up with a broad grin.

"Headmaster Yoen, your darling granddaughter has a suggestion that you might want to take into consideration." Ichai said smoothly. Freud grimaced; this was how Ichai always got his way. He said it was what ZEKIYAA wanted. And Yoen always did what Zekiyaa wanted. With disgust, the redhead could already tell that the headmaster's interest was piqued by the prospect of the woman having an idea. Perhaps, Freud mused, it was because his granddaughter consistently did such a bad job on her actual scholarly studies.

"Zekiyaa, dear, you had something to say?" Yoen said. Ichai's girlfriend stood up sharply, a nervous smile painting her features. She clearly did not expect that she would have to speak—Freud had watched them before, and he knew that Ichai usually did the talking for the pair.

"Ah, yes, well…" She stuttered. "Ichai and I were talking, and we were thinking…little young Freud seems so CONFIDENT in the abilities of the Order of Orbis to defend the original Empress crown. It seems to us that he has no fear of Phantom at all, that he's simply tossing away a threat as if it is nothing."

"Zekiyaa, Ichai, I already told you, Freud will not be stepping down from the council—" Yoen sighed irritably, but his granddaughter interrupted hurriedly.

"We meant no such thing, grandfather. In fact, I had a better suggestion. Perhaps, since he's SO sure of himself, we could put him in CHARGE of this operation?" Zekiyaa suggested. Freud's eyebrows shot up and Yoen stared at her blankly. The rest of the room broke out into a loud blabber, so noisy that Zekiyaa had to raise her voice to be heard. "Well, he is, after all…still in need of PROVING himself to the council. One would think that stopping the Phantom thief from stealing the original Empress crown would be enough to prove the little dear's worth?"

"It seems a bit much for a seventeen year old…." Yoen said doubtfully.

"Oh, grandfather, I'm quite sure he can handle it." Zekiyaa whined, sending a malicious sneer in Freud's direction. The boy simply rolled his eyes; was she not satisfied enough with the power she got from being the granddaughter of the Headmaster? Zekiyaa and her boyfriend had always been angry that Freud had booted Ichai out of Yoen's favor, as Yoen now preferred Freud to be his advisor rather than Ichai. The redhead knew it just did the school better.

Freud didn't get her game, though. He was quite capable of handling some THIEF.

"It depends on what Freud has to say. I believe he can handle it, but he has the right to turn it down." Yoen replied, gesturing to the young student. Freud jerked up quickly, staring blankly at his Headmaster. Then he shook the sudden distress out of his mind. "Freud? Is something wrong? Are you not okay with this? Shall I pass this duty to someone else? It's perfectly fine if you can't do it…"

"No, I think I am perfectly capable." Freud interrupted immediately. "The Order of Orbis certainly can take some idiotic thief."

And Zekiyaa and Ichai giggled happily.

000000000000000000000

A good five hundred miles above Orbis sat a gleaming ship. The white hull seemed to almost glisten in the pale moonlight that had just begun to fall upon its surface. Long lines of gold decoration went across all pieces of the painted wood, meeting in the center at a crescent moon shaped side-piece. Balanced in the center of the decoration was a large red ruby, which reflected the bright moon as an eerie red orb. At the back end of the ship were two rockets, lined with gold chains and four translucent feathers. Larger feathers hung from the cabin entrance, which was shielded from the stars and moon by a large white and gold veranda.

On the very tip of the ship sat a man, smiling widely as he looked down at Orbis; beside him stood another, older individual with a tray of tea in his hands. The cup went unsipped as the blonde looked down at the city below him.

"I didn't expect to end up in Orbis, Gaston." The first man remarked. He was flashy; a crisp white military jacket hugged his slim form, falling over puffy dark brown pants and jeweled boots. A long blue cape attached to the jeweled epaulets of the white outfit he wore. Elaborate gold patterns painted the rich fabric. Upon his dirty blonde hair was an odd hat; it was a top hat of sorts, but where the brim should be was a mask. It was the mask of a raven, fancifully decorated with gold and blue gems. Shimmering blue feathers stuck out from the blue gem on the side of his hat.

"You never know where you will end up, Master Phantom." Gaston replied airily. Phantom chuckled.

"Too true. But I can't imagine much of worth to steal here. All they have is the Order of Orbis, and…" Phantom sighed melodramatically. "…could one really bring oneself to steal from a bunch who seek to do naught but learn? I think not."

"I believe you phrased it earlier as that you could not get past their defenses."

"There is that problem too." Phantom grinned cheekily. He wasn't one to avoid the fact that the Order of Orbis was hard to break into. "I certainly would not be foolish enough to try…and God help the fool who goes up against the people within. I hear those scholars are some vicious individuals. Though I admit that under a fake name, I've sold them one or two of the artifacts they hold so dear…"

"They had to get it from somewhere."

"Exactly, my dear man! Exactly!" Phantom laughed jovially, sweeping his cape around him in a grandiose gesture. "That said, I know of some rather fanciful individuals who have lovely mansions in this area. I believe they have a thing or two that they could loan a poor, starving thief like myself…don't you think?"

"A noble who buys a house in the sky usually has money to spare for extra nonsense, it is true." Gaston replied.

"Hmm…so perhaps tonight, I'll just take a gander down at the people of Orbis." Phantom flicked his finger out, revealing one of his trademark cards. "I believe I'll just drop this down at the Ocera family…I believe they hold the famous Pendant of Diasdra?"

"Indeed they do."

Phantom smirked.

"Then tonight, they shall be parted from it."

With that, he whisked himself away.


	2. Interference

Maplestory Glamorous

Chapter Two

Interference

Freud sat patiently outside of the hall of treasures; it was a considerable honor even to be let into the same building that kept the crown of the long deceased first Empress of Maple. Like all parts of the Order of Orbis, the halls were elaborately decorated. Unlike the rest of the Order, though, this part of quarters was hung with elaborate and ancient treasures. Most of it was ancient treasures from the island of Ereve. Many of these crowns and staffs were on loan from Shinsoo and Empress Vera, and if harm were to be brought upon them…well, no one liked to think of those consequences. Empress Vera valued her ancient historical symbols greatly and the idea of losing them, in her words, 'troubled her greatly'.

Despite such thoughts, Freud's eyes wandered slightly—and, he figured, why should they not? There were twenty of Empress Vera's most skilled guards standing in the hall with him, and ten more within the chamber with the Crown itself. He had nothing to fear. So he allowed himself to peer out the barred window slightly. Yes, despite the elaborate white painted halls and gold lathered carvings upon the walls, bars still held the treasures safely within. Even the small symbols carved on the iron (meant for protective spells more than anything else) did not detract from the fact that this place was meant to protect what was inside—what was in this building was to stay here, and not to leave.

Freud did not doubt the security.

Especially not to some childish, attention seeking master thief.

So his ice blue eyes rested on the almost pitch black scene outside; he could see the faint traces of the Ocera household right next to the building. Zekiyaa's dwelling. Undoubtedly she was sitting down to a nice cup of tea right now, mockingly chuckling to herself as she told herself that Freud couldn't handle the job she had given him. The boy snorted. She was so naïve sometimes. She gave him these 'tough jobs' that he could do without breaking a sweat and yet she probably couldn't do with even the biggest of handicaps. The only reason she wanted him kicked down a notch was because of Ichai, anyways. Her stupid boyfriend…that man who was so angry…

Freud shook his head. It was best to not think of them.

Still, he didn't like the Ocera household being so close to the hall of treasures. There was a town nearby, their home should have been part of it…he could never quite figure out why a mansion like Zekiyaa's was part of the campus. He did know that she had a fondness for staring at the hall of treasures, though. Most of the time, he figured it was none of his business, but tonight…Freud thought Zekiyaa and Ichai had been up to something lately. It was bothering him.

He gritted his teeth; he really couldn't let such fools get to him. He had a job to do tonight, and it wouldn't take too much…

"So are ya….are ya the young master Freud?"

The redhead teen looked up curiously to a tall, imposing knight—one of Empress Vera's servicemen. The man had a frown that seemed to be permanently plastered onto his face and a powerful jaw. Under the thick steel armor, Freud could see bulging muscles and thick fingers that gripped at the hilt of a large sword. Obviously, this man was a Dawn Warrior. He didn't seem too friendly, either.

"Yes, that would be me. Who are you?"

"My name is Ionia." The man said. "I'm the head of the trope send here by Empress Vera. I was told that my trope was to be led by a child today…"

"If that is what you wish to call me, I suppose it shall be so." Freud said pleasantly, seeing no point in arguing with a man who was double his size. Not that there would have been a point in arguing with him even if he wasn't…the redhead had long since learned to pick his fights, and he knew well that the captain of Vera's Orbis stationed guards was not someone to tussle with. Certainly considering that Ionia was a fearsome looking individual.

"You are surprisingly calm. Why did you take this job?"

"Because it's my duty, I suppose."

"Your duty? Well, that's more or less what any of our knights would say. It is our duty to our Empress Vera." Ionia looked forward with determined green eyes, as if he was to slay invisible enemies. His eyes held an almost childish determination but Freud cast the look out of his attention—something wasn't right.

"Yes…my duty…" Yes, it was certain that something wasn't right—Freud seemed distracted. His eyes had drifted back to the window as he carefully watched the Ocera noble house outside the door. The trope captain noticed his actions immediately and followed the blue eyed gaze carefully. However, the burly knight failed to see what the small teen was apparently seeing.

"Is something wrong, child?"

"As much as it pleases you, I would prefer you to not call me 'child'. I have a name. It's Freud." The scholar said absentmindedly, striding across the room to stare out the barred windows. "And yes…something isn't right. I swear that I keep seeing something outside at that Ocera noble house but I can't make out what it is."

"Perhaps it is the thief."

"But what would he be doing over at the Ocera house if he was aiming for the crown?" Freud mused, mostly to himself. He didn't expect Ionia to be of much help. One finger absentmindedly tapped at the white surface of the carving. The redhead wondered briefly if he was imagining things until he saw a flash rush across the courtyard again. His head snapped up sharply; yes, there was DEFINITELY somebody or something in the Ocera noble house courtyard. He just couldn't quite see what it was.

He wasn't sure he wanted to be blamed for the Ocera household being robbed, either.

"Captain, erm, Ionia?" Freud said slowly. The guard straightened up immediately, prepared to take orders. "Could you send some men over to the Ocera household? There appears to be something in the courtyard of their home. I don't know what it is but…"

"You want to check in on their well-being?"

"I would like that very much, Captain Ionia. Could you arrange a few of your men to do that for me?" Freud smiled wistfully at the guard and Ionia nodded solemnly. The redhead would admit any day that he did not particularly like Zekiyaa, but in reality, he didn't want her hurt. In a case of a robbery or an attack, it could put the poor girl in great danger. Freud was no sadist—for the most part, he couldn't will himself to wish pain upon others unless they really deserved it. Zekiyaa didn't really deserve it, despite being a rather large pain in his rear.

"As you order, sir. I'll need to see your Order of Orbis identification first, though." Captain Ionia said sheepishly, and Freud nodded. He flashed a small white slip of paper in the guard's direction and the man nodded, calling a few men (more than Freud thought was necessary, honestly) over and tromping off into the courtyard of the Ocera noble house. The hall that Freud was standing went dead quiet.

It was mildly eerie, he had to admit.

Several minutes later, though, he heard a crash and the sound of Captain Ionia's sword hitting stone. The redhead teen immediately shot to attention, rushing out the door of the treasury and securely locking it behind just to be careful. It sounded like a battle had broken out in the Ocera noble house courtyard, which meant there had to be a prowler of some sort in Zekiyaa's yard! Freud expected something there, but he didn't know what to expect…whatever it was, he could hear from across the yard that the guards were having a hard time with it.

"God damn it, he's too fast!"

"Wha—he just used your sword swipe!"

"I missed! How could I miss!"

Freud groaned; reaching in his sleeve, he produced a stick of chalk and began to draw a symbol on the ground. It was a simple white chalk mark made out of a series of circles and squares—simple, he thought, but a very effective spell if used right. He just hoped it would work. Quickly, he made his rounds to each of the four corners of the noble household (which was quite a large trek) and finally back to the entrance. Luckily someone, likely the prowler, had already broken the lock on the Ocera mansion's gate. All Freud had to do was push open the metal hinges and walk straight through.

The sight that met him was certainly an interesting one.

Most of Empress Vera's guards were grounded, weapons thrown across the courtyard. Their bodies lay comatose on the hard stone or in the lush gardens cared for the Ocera servants. Only Captain Ionia and a choice few men stood. By the veranda, Zekiyaa stood in nothing but a bathroom. One of her hands covered her mouth and a candle was held in her free hand. In the far right of the courtyard, to Freud's surprise, was an elaborately dressed man. For a moment, the redhead just stared at the scene then took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Good evening. You wouldn't happen to be Phantom, would you?" Freud said pleasantly. The blonde looked up at him quizzically, throwing his cane up in the air—as if he planned to attack with it. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Do what?" The thief said with a sneer.

"Attack anyone else." Freud said patiently. "Could you answer my question, please?"

The highly decorated man stared for a moment, and then laughed jovially. "Certainly, little one. I am indeed Phantom, the master thief. I wonder, do you think a child like yourself is the one who will stop me?"

"Please don't make me become unpleasant, Phantom. Honestly, I'd prefer you to leave." Freud said tiredly. "A calling card was enough. The Order of Orbis needs no trouble from the likes of you, but I am willing to fight back if necessary. I will warn you that I'm one of the youngest members of the council—" He ignored the snort that Zekiyaa gave. "—and I am willing to exert my training on you if needed."

"My goodness, you are a wordy little one. Now, as sweet as is it that you think you can stop me, dear child…" Phantom smirked widely and adjusted his mask over his face. Freud didn't rise to the challenge of the other calling him a child—from what he could tell, the thief he was being faced with was only about eighteen or nineteen himself. Barely a few years older. "…well, if you think you can stop me, you are welcome to try. Many have done so. But the reality is, all have failed."

Freud held out his hand. The gesture was almost inviting, eyes soft and willing to negotiate. The overall weakness of the posture the teen held almost made Phantom drop his composure for a moment—no one had defended themselves against him in this manner before. This strange boy seemed almost willing to let him leave safely, if he just left without his target item. But Phantom was known for his accuracy. He was a thief that never failed and he wasn't about to fail just because of some child who knew a few basic spells.

So he made to lunge forward.

Freud sucked in a sigh and snapped his fingers sharply.

"_Seal._"

Immediately, Phantom felt as if his entire body was weighed down by a rock; from the corner of his eye, he could see the Erevian guards collapsing as well. In the back of his mind he registered that the redhead teen had cast a very powerful sealing spell—he had seen it in some books he had up in his library. The spell sealed the movement of everyone besides the caster of the spell, and involved placing some runes around the area before casting. The one that had been cast was obviously being driven by very powerful magic; Phantom could barely lift his head when he heard Freud's footsteps drawing closer.

The boy crouched down next to him, an almost apologetic smile crossing over his lips.

"I'm sorry. But, you see, the Crown of Empress Kycia cannot just be taken."

_The Crown of Empress Kycia?_ Phantom wondered. _What in the world is he talking about…?_

He didn't have time to ask, though, because he found himself in binds almost seconds later. The guards were, one by one, released from the Seal that the boy had placed on them but Freud didn't seem keen on lifting the Seal from Phantom's being. Instead, he seemed to be slapping extra seals onto the thief's clothes. Phantom found himself confused—he hadn't come for the Crown of Empress Kycia. He wasn't even entirely sure what that was. He had come for the Pendant of Diasdra, the crown jewel of the Ocera family.

Phantom didn't know what was going on, but he damn well intended to find out.


	3. Shady Deal

Maplestory Glamorous

Chapter Three

Shady Deal

"This is real cute."

Phantom sat, grinning and crosslegged, on a plush chair in Headmaster Yoen's office; his cheeky words went ignored by the group as a whole, sans a few glares sent his way. He was surrounded by a frowning council. Standing beside him with one slim hand on the wood frame of the chair was Freud. The brunette seemed highly concerned and confused; his ice blue eyes kept flitting back and forth between the thief and the councilmembers. In Phantom's eyes, it seemed as if Freud couldn't figure out why they were all so angry. The thief himself couldn't discern it either, but he had an unhappy feeling that bit at his fake grin that told him he would soon know. He figured, though, that for now…for now, it would be best to just keep a stupid smile on and trick the scholars around him.

"We see you captured the Phantom thief, young one." Headmaster Yoen cleared his throat broadly. Phantom noticed the teen next to him straightened up considerably. "This is quite the accomplishment for the Order of Orbis. Empress Vera will be quite pleased to have this criminal in captivity."

The room went dead silent again, the only sound being that of Zekiyaa kicking the white carpeting with her red high heels. Freud coughed slightly, eyes growing more and more bemused; the youthful scholar couldn't quite comprehend what was going on. He hadn't exactly expected a party (these people weren't the celebrating sort), but he had expected them to be happier than this. Most of them were literally frowning. He couldn't comprehend what the problem could possibly be.

Finally, Phantom interrupted the din of silence to ask Freud's question for him.

"Am I missing something?"

The councilmembers all looked at the thief pointedly. "What exactly do you mean, Mister 'master thief'? Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

"No, not in particular. Scholarly debate isn't really my field of study, you see, as I prefer...discovery of ancient artifacts." Phantom grinned cheekily, earning him a smack from one of the councilmembers. It went ignored by the arrogant thief. "I was just wondering why, after catching 'Mister master thief', you would all have such angry expressions on your face. It really is unbefitting to such a glorious triumph. Or are you all really this devoid of the ability to have fun?"

"You dare—" One of the councilmembers started, but Headmaster Yoen shook his head and beckoned him to sit down. The white robe clad man grumbled and flopped back down in his seat obediently.

"I believe you know exactly why we aren't celebrating, Mr. Phantom." Headmaster Yoen said solemnly. Phantom tilted his head to one side curiously; he honestly couldn't fathom a clue. He couldn't even figure out why they had brought him into this office instead of sending him straight to jail. The thief could have broken out of his cell by now; these people were basically just wasting his time with their nonsense shenanigans and now they were assuming that HE would know why they were acting strangely?

"Sir, if you won't tell him…." Freud interrupted. Phantom peered curiously over his shoulder at the redhead; the boy was now wearing a concerned but determined expression on his face. "…would you mind telling me? I'm a tad bit confused as to why everyone seems so angry. We seem to have accomplished our goal, after all."

"Yeah, you scholarly geniuses accomplished your goal. I wouldn't mind proceeding to the next step. You know, the so called 'secure' cell." Phantom said mockingly. As if he couldn't break out of a cell in a fortnight. These fools had just gotten lucky…how they had, he didn't know. However, his words did not receive hesitant glances but rather vicious glares—Phantom didn't mind. It was funny to him.

"Sir…?" Freud ignored the blonde next to him.

"We would love to take you to a cell, dear boy." Headmaster Yoen hissed as he stood up abruptly. It caused a few of the councilmembers to jump back. "But we can't do that yet. We can't do that until you tell us exactly where you hid your prize."

"My prize?" Phantom inquired, genuinely confused this time. What was this crazy old man talking about?

"We don't wish to play any games, Phantom." The woman from the prior night, Zekiyaa, stepped forward smoothly. Her painted lips were the only lips in the room that were smiling, if only slightly and with a bit of annoyance. "The council does not know how you did it. We're not sure why you came back down to rob the Ocera estate. We don't know how you did this all undetected. But we do know that you did it somehow, and the crown of Empress Kycia was NOT in its resting spot when we opened up the treasury the following morning."

"WHAT?!" Freud screeched, his usually calm featured now painted with distress. "No one told me about this! The crown is GONE?! When did this happen?! When was this discovered?! How could thi—"

"Calm yourself, YOUNG ONE." Zekiyaa snapped. Phantom shifted his eyes between the redhead and the tall woman—he could sense a certain amount of anger and tension between the two, though he couldn't gauge exactly where it had flared up from. He hadn't sensed this much powerful emotion from the other teen last night—in fact, it had been made clear that he was fairly good at keeping his calm.

Granted, Phantom could understand why he would lose his calm here. Even the thief was a little thrown off by this one.

"The crown of Empress Kycia?" He said, tone bemused. "I don't know anything about that. I came for the Pendant of Diasdra. That's all. Isn't the crown of Empress Kycia located in the treasury of the Order of Orbis? I've never even set foot inside that place, and I certainly didn't go there last night. If I was planning to, then I would have sent a calling card to the Order. And I didn't."

The room went dead silent.

"….You didn't." Freud repeated.

"No. I didn't.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"…Headmaster Yoen, who has the card?" Freud asked. The old man massaged his temple and gestured at Ichai; the dark haired man produced the dark tarot shaped card from his coat and presented it to the thief. Phantom squinted at it curiously. "Mr. Phantom. This card was delivered to the Order of Orbis a few nights ago. Are you saying that you AREN'T responsible for the creation and delivery of this card?"

"I never planned to steal the crown. My plan has been to rob the Ocera noble grounds." Phantom replied stubbornly. Freud sent a glance over at Zekiyaa; she looked away. "I assume they received the card?"

"We did." Yoen replied. Freud looked to the Headmaster with wide eyes; this was the first he had heard of such an event. "And we received the calling card for the crown about two days later. The family had been debating for several days on how to deal with the threat towards the Pendant of Diasdra, but decided that we had to focus our attention on the crown of Empress Kycia instead. The crown is far more important. I guess you could say we got distracted by the second calling card."

"I didn't send that card."

"You swear this?" Freud asked. Phantom nodded stubbornly. "Why should we believe you? You're a master thief. Why would a master thief be above lying to us? We're just a bunch of scholars and you have shown us nothing but disrespect. I mean you no ill, but frankly, it's not beyond my span of imagination to believe that a so-called master thief would attempt a double heist. Especially when the Order of Orbis and the Ocera estate are so close in proximity to each other. What say you, master thief?"

"…I say that you are a smart boy." Phantom replied quietly, staring down the scholarly intently. Freud didn't even crack a smile. "However. I would not break into the Order of Orbis grounds. I'm not that stupid. I may be a master thief, but I am well aware that breaking into the Order of Orbis is like trying to break into the well guarded bank in the world. The royals of Ereve keep many of their treasures here for a reason. This place is saturated with talent, and accompanied by some of Empress Vera's top guards. I may be a master thief, scholar, but I am no fool. I would not try to rob the Order of Orbis. I go for ancient and powerful target, but not for stupid ones."

"….Well, he knows what he's talking about." Zekiyaa said haughtily. "But I see no reason to believe him. He's a thief, a conman, a trickster. My guess is that he took the crown back to his ship, and then came back for the pendant! We should locate the ship and search it as soon as possible."

"I dare you to try." Phantom sneered.

"Oh, will you calm down?" Freud snapped at them. Then he crouched down next to the master thief. "Listen to me. That crown is very important. We MUST have it back as soon as possible. If you don't have it…do you have any clue as to where it might be at the moment? Did you see anything?"

"Not a damn thing, princess." Phantom jeered at the redhead. Freud sighed slightly and rose back to his feet. Reaching inside his robe, he produced a glimmering pendant; Phantom's eye lit up at the sight of it and Zekiyaa's face fell miserably. "Why, little scholar. When did your sticky fingers pick up the Pendant of Diasdra?"

"What is he doing with my pendant?!" Zekiyaa shrieked, lunging forward. Several of the councilmembers grabbed her and held her back as Freud waved the shimmering pendant in the thief's face. It was indeed a sight to behind. The pendant was made of pure gold and inset with rubies and jade. The shape of a harp was discernible among the shining jewels. The eyes of the beast were made out of rough stones of light blue.

"Yoen gave it to me this morning, Zekiyaa. He said you were 'no longer in need of such a trinket', so I could use it for….persuasive means." Freud said. His ice blue eyes glittered like the bright gems of the pendant—like a prize to steal itself. They were enchanting just in their own and lit up with a powerful fire that had not been present before. Phantom choose to stare at the ice blue orbs rather than the glittering pendant. "So, Phantom. Are you willing to negotiate with a bunch of scholars?"

Phantom's purple eyes flitted to the side curiously, analyzing the situation. "Well, it's rather unbecoming. Why do YOU want to work with me?"

"I don't believe you stole the crown. Something else happened here." Freud replied, once again gaining Phantom's attention. "I think…that someone is using your infamy, Mister master thief. They're using your infamy to get away with some very high treason. At this point, I believe that not only we are being duped…but that you are being duped as well. And I can imagine that nobody likes being duped. So I was wondering if we could play a little game."

"A game."

"Yes. After all, who best to figure out a thief than a MASTER thief?" Freud smiled brightly; his ice blue sparkled with intelligence.

"Freud, this man is likely the person who STOLE the crown!" Zekiyaa shrieked. "Now you are going to offer MY pendant in exchange for his services to catch HIMSELF? This is ridiculous! Are you truly this much of a fool?!"

"Call me what you like, Zekiyaa." Freud said calmly. "If you would like to be duped by some unknown force, then allow yourself to be. But you will never get the crown of Empress Kycia back that way. You have to think like a thief to catch a thief who can think far enough ahead like this….far enough ahead to have us preparing for something that wasn't going to be there. I'm going to trust Phantom, and if he misleads us, I'll take care of it."

"You'll take care of it?" One of the councilmembers asked hesitantly. They all were mumbling quietly to themselves. Freud smiled briefly, then sent an unsettling glare in Phantom's direction. The thief almost flinched; he hadn't realized it when meeting Freud, but there was something powerful behind this teen scholar. He figured he'd have to be careful…but for the time being, he figured he'd just play along.

"So what, you're going to play babysitter or something? You're going to CONTROL me?" Phantom jeered. Freud smiled softly.

"Precisely."


	4. Binding Brace

Maplestory Glamorous

Chapter Four

Binding Brace

Phantom cautiously fingered the jeweled bracelet that had been handed to him. His purple eyes glanced between the item, the decorated guards with charged staffs, and the redhead mage across from him. Freud was smiling invitingly at the master thief; already, a matching bracelet was securely latched onto his thin wrist. While the bracelet in Phantom's hand was inset with shimmering rubies, Freud's arm piece seemed to be decorated with bright and glimmering sapphires. Both gems seemed immensely valuable; Phantom filed it away in the back of his mind to nab the jewelry for later.

For now, though, he just was curious to know why the scholars were handing him one of the bracelets free of charge.

"So what is this?" He said, waving the bracelet between his pointer finger and thumb. Freud smiled patiently. "Is there some reason you dragged me up here, telling me we were going to get that crown of yours, just to give me some pretty jewelry?"

"It's not just some pretty jewelry." Freud replied simply. Phantom raised a slim eyebrow at the redhead scholar across for him, waiting for the mage to elaborate. When he didn't, the thief let out an annoyed sigh.

"So what is it?"

"Pretty jewelry with some spells on it. They're pretty basic spells cast by the headmaster of the Order of Orbis." Freud said smoothly. Phantom narrowed his eyes and spun the bracelet on his fingers, but refused to put it on—this seemed suspicious. "I suppose you won't put that on until I explain the spell effect to you."

"I don't take much fancy to the idea, no."

"Then you are, indeed, the world famous thief that you're rumored to be. No fool would just put that bracelet on." Freud chuckled lightly as he tapped one of the sapphires on his own bracelet. "Okay, so here's the story. That fancy piece of jewelry in your hand is a twin to the one on my arm. Both pieces of jewelry are enchanted personally by Headmaster Yoen, essentially because no one at the Order trusts you to stay here instead of running off as soon as we get on the road. The spell does not allow you to wander any more than fifty meters away from the wearer of the sapphire bracelet—and only the owner of the sapphire bracelet can remove the ruby bracelet once it is on your wrist."

Phantom narrowed his eyes.

"Why should I believe that you'll let me go once you get your crown back?" The thief questioned as he laced his fingers together, leaning forward towards the redhead. Freud's smile did not fade in the slightest. "Exactly why shouldn't I think you and your scholar buddies won't just lock me up as soon as we get back?"

Freud's smile softened. "Well, because the spell on the bracelet is mutual. The owner of the ruby bracelet has to release the owner of the sapphire bracelet at the same time. It's a ritual. If I don't let you go, I'd lose too. This spell was initially made as a way to ensure that contracts would be properly carried out, for eternity. I assure you that you will have just as much control over me…however, the sapphire bracelet owner IS the main spell focus."

"Which means?"

"Which means the fifty meter rule does revolve entirely around my person." Freud replied, but didn't elaborate. Phantom decided to not push it. He just stared blankly at the ruby embedded bracelet in his hand. The blonde really had two choices here—he could either put this bracelet on and trust this odd redhead mage scholar or he could let the Order of Orbis blame him and cart him off to jail.

No matter how he looked at it, Phantom decided, putting up with this strange teenaged scholar seemed like a much more preferable option at the time. That and he'd get the Pendant of Diasdra that could be seen tucked under the folds of Freud's white robes…and possibly these bracelets, if he played his cards right. The thief shook his head, not believing his own decision but knowing he'd have to go with it no matter what.

And he slipped the ruby bracelet onto his wrist.

The effect was immediate; the bracelet clamped down harder onto his skin and patterns of dark red and blue shot up his skin in the shapes of curled symbols as the inset rubies glowed bright red. Phantom didn't recognize most of them; they sunk into his pale skin and disappeared too quickly for him to make any sense of them. The process was over as quick as it began, however, leaving the thief staring in bewilderment at the redhead across the room from him. Freud simply continued to smile softly.

"Not familiar with this magic?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, that's because it's fairly ancient and hasn't been used for over five hundred years. It's still under testing in one of the departments." Freud said cheerfully. "Headmaster Yoen and I figured this would be a good second field test."

"Second FIELD TEST?" Phantom said incredulously.

"Well, yes. You have to test magic before it can be used properly. Surely you don't think these spells spring out of nowhere?" Freud said, his innocent and soft smile morphing into a bit of a sly smirk. Phantom's expression didn't seem particularly reassured by the mage's words—if anything, he seemed a bit more perturbed by them. As if this was something he hadn't expected from the slight and wholly unthreatening redhead mage.

Then again, Phantom considered, Freud seemed a bit like a person whose trust would be valuable to earn—it seemed like despite his innocent and harmless appearance, the mage was actually immensely clever.

The mere thought of considering someone clever made Phantom almost smirk.

The redhead may be clever, but Phantom knew that no sheltered Order of Orbis teenager was going to best him.

"So we're going to be pursuing the Crown of Kycia." Phantom said slowly, not really paying attention as he observed the shimmering bracelet on his arm. Freud didn't reply until the thief tore his eyes away from the jewelry to land his eyes on the slight redhead sitting across from him; the ice blue eyes had gone completely serious. "…Well, I think at this point you and your little organization knows more about it than I do. All I know is that I'm under suspicion but I have nothing to do with the crown."

"Since you asked so politely…" Freud said quietly, reaching into his robe to withdraw two cards from the white folds. Phantom recognized the designs immediately—they were his calling cards. "We had someone analyze the card that was left at the Order of Orbis in comparison to the one left at Ocera Estate. It took only a few hours under the analysis of some of our top technicians."

"And what did your 'top technicians' find?" Phantom replied, a hint of sarcasm lacing his tone.

"You were not lying. The card meant for the Crown of Kycia was not sent by you." Freud explained as he ignored the thief's haughty tone. He simply pushed both cards across the table in the blonde thief's direction. Phantom picked one up and flipped it around. "We analyzed them and found that while they contained similar chemical makeups, the card sent to the Order of Orbis was made with a different type of ink. It's a brand of ink that's only found on Victoria Island, in the damp forests of Ellin. Extremely rare. Extremely hard to acquire. And extremely expensive."

"And I use ink from—"

"Ariant. Yes, we know. We analyzed both cards." Freud interrupted the blonde before he could continue. "The technicians found it very odd that these cards carried this difference. May I ask if you've ever used Ellin ink before?"

"No. I only use Ariant ink." Phantom sniffed, annoyed that Freud had interrupted him.

"Yes. So this is a strange abnormality. After the technicians discovered this, we looked over the card for fingerprints." Freud explained.

"Oh? Find anything?"

"Unfortunately, no. There are prints there, but they couldn't be identified as anyone specific." Freud went on. Phantom knitted his brow; the thief supposed he should have figured that. Someone going after the Crown of Kycia wouldn't make it THAT easy for them. "But we did have the technicians compare the fingerprints against the prints on the Ocera Estate calling card. If anything, we can confirm one thing for certain: the fingerprints on that card and the fingerprints on the Kycia card are not the same. They confirmed that it's highly unlikely that you didn't send the calling card for the Crown of Kycia."

"…Huh. You all have really got your stuff together here at the Order, don't you?" Phantom smirked slightly, leaning back in his chair and resting his cheek against one gloved fist. "Thief or not, I'm impressed you managed to figure all that out within such a short span of time."

"The Order of Orbis doesn't hold its reputation for no reason." Freud said. His youth betrayed a small tone of pride; Phantom could tell the teenaged scholar was quite prideful that he was part of such an organization. "That said, you must realize what this means?"

"Indulge me." Phantom's grin betrayed his words; the thief knew exactly what he meant and he just wanted to mess with this person that he was now saddled with. Freud shook his head and made a clicking sound with his tongue. "Come now."

"It means, my new partner…" Freud paused for effect. "…it means that we have a lead. It's not the most powerful lead but it is, indeed, a lead. This type of ink is only made one place in the world: Ellin Forest, in the Elfin city of Eurel, by an elfin crafter by the name of Kelle. She usually works specifically for the Queen and her daughter, but sometimes makes exceptions. I've already begun arrangements to allow us entry into the city. They should be set up in about a week or two, given on how much the Elf council wants to argue with Yoe—"

Freud's words were interrupted by a harsh, loud chortle.

"A week or two." Phantom chuckled. The mage raised a brow curiously at the tone of disbelief laced into the master thief's words—it was almost as if Phantom thought Freud was wasting his time. "Really? A week or two? It honestly takes you scholarly clowns a week or two just to get into EUREL? Please."

"Do you have a BETTER method?" Freud said.

Phantom smirked, his expression remarkably berating. "Oh, my dear file obsessed scholar. I indeed do. I have a way that could get us there by tomorrow night, easily."

Freud raised an eyebrow, cast a glance back to the guards behind them, and then leaned in close to the thief.

"I'm listening."

Phantom let out a hearty laugh.


End file.
